Trackball Mice

[Jguy101 0]

Just curious, but is anyone else a fan of trackball mice?

 

I personally would like Kensington's Orbit. My uncle has a similar one hooked up to his iMac, and it's great for playing Bugdom.

[Retaining 0]

How well do they work for gaming, specifically first person shooters? I can see the benefits of having one, but I just don't want to spend the money if it isn't worth it. Right now I just have an old Logitech optical that still works great, had it for about 4 years now.

[gamerchick39 0]

I agree.. i havent had any personal experience with the trackball mouse.. and i dont really care too.. I bout a Logitec optical mouse when i got my computer 2 years ago... and it was really the best 15 bucks i could have spent.. It works fine for when i play games like Doom 3 and Halo, so i dont even think of gettin anything else

[Jguy101 0]

Well, Bugdom is a third-person game, but it may work well for first-person gaming too, but I really couldn't tell you. It doesn't seem like it would be the best thing for FPS's or flight sims, but if you're playing third-person games, you'd porbably like it. If you aren't the gamer, it's still a great mouse, because you don't have to pick up the mouse and plop it down again if you run out of room on your desk.

 

The only downside is that you ahve to clean the ball every now and then because it tends to get greasy from your hand, but who cares?

[jipman 0]

After using one for several minutes my hand starts to ache.. I guess I'm not build for those things. What I've been wondering, are these things more or less ergonomical 'correct' than normal mice or not? Anyone who got an answer for that?

[Jguy101 0]

I really couldn't tell you about any ergonomic factors, although some may be more comfortable.

 

Come to think of it, they may be good for an FPS, because you'd just be controlling the direction you're facing, not moving...for that, you'd want one of those instead of a regular mouse.

[irwan6179 0]

i dont know, i think the track ball is using much more energy than optical mice.... btw, how to use it, using palm or fingers?

[Jguy101 0]

Fingers. Using your palm would be...weird.

[kam1405241509 0]

I have a Logitech trackball (with the thumb on the ball & finger on the buttons, rather than fingers on the ball .. I much prefer it this way .. though I know several mates who far prefer the trackballs aimed at forefinger-based use!) ... along with an MS Optical IntelliMouse. I even have a small keyboard with integrated trackstick but that's annoying and only useful on a couch for media-type-apps (PVR).I've tried using both in flight sims, and hated it. A proper stick (it doesn't have to have forcefeedback) is the only option here IMHO.I've also used them in FPS's. I get better scores when using the mouse, but I still prefer the trackball, simply because there's less movement AND faster/longer movement (no need to lift up the mouse at an edge etc)!! The trackball isn't useable in FPS's unless I set the y-axis to be very insensitive compared to the x-axis. So ideally, you need an optical sensor that has a high resolution (as high as possible). As far as I know, there are no high-res "gaming" trackballs, though there are many gaming mice .. this is simply because the majority of people buy (and presumably prefer!) mice for both gaming & productivity apps.The trackball comes into its own in RTS/RPG/adventure games ... especially C&C , because you can scroll a massive map by doing a quick flick of the thumb & letting the ball roll on & on for a short while.The things I like about mice (the optical/laser ones, not ones needing mats) is that you effectively can setup specific points on your desk for specific relative angles in the FPS. This is the closest there is to a VR-like headset tracker! And this is where trackballs are at a serious disadvantage (if you use your mouse in this way). Personally, I don't play like this .. I simply think about moving the "aim" crosshair a "bit to the left" etc. In other words, relative rather than absolute positioning.For ergonomics, my personal view is that if you move less it's better. This is why some people prefer UNIX to Windows as there's less mouse-movements required in a less-GUI desktop environment .. one that can be setup for a number of keyboard shortcuts and scripts (thought WSH & Vista are aiming to go more towards this approach!). You should also have a decent amount of desktop space for your arms to rest at 90-degrees .. another common statement .. 90-degrees at the knees, elbows, etc! Finally, ergonomic keyboards (like my MS Natural one) basically force the user to stop moving their arms, and only move their wrists etc. There are papers that say this is bad, however (hence Logitech made their recent totally-flat keyboard!). There's scientific proof in both directions, so my guess is that again it's really dependent on the user. If a user presses down hard on the wristrest of a Natural keyboard, then there's likely to be problems. The research I mentioned above argued that it's best to have an almost straight line from finger-to-wrist-to-arm .. ie no bends .. but I do this with my ergonomic keyboard by adding extra lift at the wristrest, and by simply not using the wristrest .. I prefer to point my fingers&arm towards the keys ... can't really explain without a diagram, but I hope that's atleast vaguely clear !I think each person will have very different tastes when it comes to trackballs-vs-mice (the arguments were there even a decade ago .. though they were less about FPS's then, of course!), and you really do need to try it out in the shops first (and then order online ), rather than depending on luck or others' opinions to get your ideal HID.sorry for the long verbose messages I'm posting .. old/bad habit of mine!Promise the next one's will be shorter & more concise!!Kam.